Fidelis Morgan was nominated as one of the Barnes & Noble’s DISCOVER NEW AUTHORS for Unnatural Fire.

London 1699. Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche, Baroness Penge, Countess of Clapham, former mistress to Charles II, has fallen on hard times. Cast into the notorious Fleet Prison by the bum-bailiffs, she is forced to turn to journalism: gathering salacious tit-bits for a scandal sheet. But the Countess and Alpiew, her maidservant, encounter more intrigue than they bargained for when a mysterious woman hires them to follow her husband Beau, whom she suspects of adultery.

Their pursuit of Beau leads them to playhouses, lecture halls, the half-constructed St Paul's' Cathedral and the dives of Alsatia, only to end abruptly in a Covent Garden churchyard - leaving the Countess and Alpiew implicated in a murder. And worse is to follow, for to unravel their only clue to the identity of the real killer they must penetrate the mysteries of alchemy.

REVIEWS

If you haven't yet made the acquaintance of the Countess and Alpiew, I urge you to do so at once. You will be rewarded with thrills and laughter aplenty. Steven Saylor

Fidelis Morgan's books are meticulous in their historical accuracy, zestful in their crime plotting, and very funny. Simon Brett

A delicious, rollicking romp of a mystery that kept me enthralled. Fidelis Morgan writes just the sort of story I love, full of sensuous details that make history come alive... I can't wait to read her next one. Tess Gerritsen

I challenge you to open a Fidelis Morgan at any page and not to be grabbed and plunged into a story where the action is non-stop and outrageous. The Countess Ashby de la Zouche books are a joy, written with tremendous energy and flair. It goes without saying that Fidelis has done her history homework, but no one ever made history more fun. Peter Lovesey

Hilarious 17th century romp, which combines an authentic slice of history with a tantalising storyline. An authority on the era, Morgan has created an inventive book which wears its learning lightly. Colourful turns of phrase and witty descriptions – like a bawdy P.G.Wodehouse leave you with a keen sense of the period. This is a frolicking good read. Daily Mail

Unrated Critic Reviews for Unnatural Fire

Publishers Weekly

As they trail Beau around London's seedier districts, the countess and Alpiew attend a play or two as well as a lecture on the eclipse of the sun (due later that year of 1699), comment wittily on the state of the theater and scientific learning and eventually stumble on their quarry, his throat c...